BRIGHTON — With more than 400 women in attendance, Platte Valley Medical Center’s inaugural Girl’s Night Out was a success.
Spokeswoman Charmaine Weis said the event exceeded the hospital’s expectations and that they were “overwhelmed by how much fun people had.”
Weis said throughout the night 80 women received bone density scans in two hours, about 10 women scheduled mammograms, the women’s and Newborn center gave tours to over 100 women, nearly 20 flu shots were given, 90 groups went through the photo booth and that the massages filled up for the night. She said more than $1,200 was also raised by the PVMC Foundation for its Women’s Services Campaign.

Photo by John Carr

Leisha Comer, formerly of Brighton and currently a nurse at Children’s Hospital, indulges in dipping pineapple in a chocolate fountains during “Girls Night Out” at Platte Valley Medical Center, Thursday evening. The medical center sponsored the event to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness month. In addition to fine food the hospital also offered screenings and information on programs for preventing and detecting breast cancer and overall good health.

As part of Girls Night Out, PVMC made a number of the hospital’s services and resources available to women including information about diabetes, health and fitness, heart health, skin care, foot care and a cooking demonstration by executive chef Mike Anderson. Women were also able to tour the hospitals Cardiac Cath Lab, Women’s Imaging Center and Women’s and Newborn Center.
Brighton resident Amanda Villela said the event gave the hospital a new setting instead of going there because you are sick.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for women to be able to ask the questions they need to ask,” she said.
Friends Sharon Powell-Ceretto and Deanna Burkhard, both of Fort Lupton, and Sandi Amen of Hudson decided to go to the event together. Burkhard said they go to a lot of women’s health issue events together and that the event would be worth coming back again next year. Amen said the event was “great” and that she needed a night out.
After a day of work Thursday, PVMC patient access manager Vianey Alba attended the event and invited her friend Maria Rivera to come with her.
“I’m just excited to come and enjoy this because I knew it was going to be lots of fun,” she said, adding that it’s great to see the community get involved with this type of event.
Rivera said the event was “great.”
“This is the first time that I’ve been to an event like this so I’m enjoying it,” she said, adding she would come back next time.
CEO John Hicks also said he was excited about the event — from the staff that had the enthusiasm to put the event on to the women who were deciding to take charge of their health.
“You know, when women take charge of their health, then they take charge of their family’s health and we know who drives health in the family and who drives the health care decisions — it’s definitely the woman,” he said.
According to Hicks, the event originally came out of the medical center’s women’s services task force which is comprised of physicians, administrators and staff who have been coming on an ongoing basis “to really work hard on our complete women’s services line.” He said the task force decided they needed to have a party for the ladies and it grew into Women’s Night Out.
Weis said the hospital will be putting a survey together for the women who attended the event to give feedback to them on the event. She said the event was the first of what is to become many happy Girls’ Night Out events.